Chapter 293

The next moment, the white crystal emitted two colors of light, blue dominating eight or nine tenths, blindingly brilliant, yet threaded with faint, sparse streaks of yellow.

"Indeed, the demon core's nature has changed. Ironhead Crocodile is a low-tier beast, originally dominated by earth affinity with secondary water affinity—now it's reversed. No wonder this beast already displays extraordinary water control before completing its transformation."

"Master Li, is this mutation a good thing or a bad thing?" Wang Yu asked involuntarily.

"Hard to say. We must wait until the beast completes its transformation to draw a conclusion. But from what I know, second-stage mutated beasts rarely end well."

"After all, mutation itself alters the normal form—let alone doing it twice. Disciple Wang, you'd better prepare yourself mentally."

"What do you mean by 'not good'?" Wang Yu frowned slightly.

"By 'not good,' I mean the mutated talent might be poor, or it might fail midway and never complete the second-stage transformation." Li Tianqi glanced down at the giant egg and replied firmly.

"Master Li, you've studied spirit beasts for years—can you stop the mutation? I've raised Little White for many years and invested a lot of spirit stones into it." Wang Yu's heart sank, then he asked slowly.

"I do have a method to halt mutation, but it's violent and severely harms the spirit beast—it might kill it outright. Do you really want me to do it?" Li Tianqi glanced sideways at Wang Yu and chuckled.

"Then forget it. Looks like I can only gamble on Little White's fortune." Wang Yu's expression darkened.

"That's right. Though the chance of second-stage mutation is low, if it succeeds and yields a strong talent, the benefits to the spirit beast are unimaginable. I've studied spirit beasts for decades, yet I've rarely seen one undergo second-stage mutation—I must observe the entire process carefully."

"Are you staying here?" Wang Yu blinked in surprise.

"Don't worry—I won't take over your cave. I'll just build a small temporary hut nearby to observe the Ironhead Crocodile's changes." Li Tianqi pointed at the giant egg beneath his feet.

"This…" Wang Yu hesitated, his expression uncertain.

"Disciple Wang, normally I'd charge you plenty of spirit stones for personally coming here to handle your spirit beast's mutation. But if you let me stay, I'll waive the fee entirely." Li Tianqi smiled warmly at Wang Yu's hesitation.

"Alright, since Master Li insists, please pay close attention to Little White's changes—and notify me immediately if anything unusual happens." Wang Yu could only smile bitterly in agreement.

"Hah! That's wise. By the way, Disciple Wang, your name has shaken all four sects after the Jialan Secret Realm—soon you'll surely become a True Disciple. I should congratulate you in advance."

"Who'd have thought that just a few years ago you entered the sect, yet now you've reached this point? Many must be stunned." Li Tianqi stroked his beard and clucked in admiration.

"Master Li already knows about the Jialan Secret Realm so quickly?" Wang Yu was surprised—he'd expected the news to take days to spread through the sect.

"Such a major event—even if we elders didn't go along, we won't be left in the dark for long."

"Disciple Wang, with the great merit you've earned, your chance to become a True Disciple is high. Would you like me to help you strengthen connections with other elders?"

"Thank you for your kindness, Master Li, but I'll decide after I receive official word." Wang Yu blinked and replied.

"Fair enough. If you change your mind, come find me anytime." Li Tianqi smiled.

"Of course."

Wang Yu readily agreed.

Afterwards, fearing Da Lü would disturb Li Tianqi, Wang Yu brought Da Lü into the cave and had it dig a small pond beside the cold spring inside.

At this point, Li Tianqi had already used bamboo from the grove to construct a crude hut, then impatiently took his position beside the giant egg, laying out talismans and several strange artifacts around it.

Wang Yu watched for a while, confirmed these actions wouldn't affect Little White inside the egg, then soothed the beast with his spiritual sense before returning to the secret chamber to organize his gains from the Jialan Secret Realm.

He first found an empty storage bag and placed the white spirit tea tree inside alone, planning to hand it over to the Yin family when they next sent someone.

He and the Yin family now shared mutual benefit, with deep intertwined interests.

Over the years, the Yin family had continuously delivered books he collected and alchemical materials he needed, helping him greatly.

In return, the Yin family, leveraging his status as an inner sect disciple and alchemist, had firmly established themselves in their new residence—and even grown stronger.

Especially after the small contest over the spirit vein, several nearby minor families had grown respectful toward the Yin family, subtly recognizing them as their leader to jointly resist larger clans.

Of course, all this information came from letters Yin Linglong had sent him over the years.

Wang Yu felt a pang of guilt toward Yin Linglong—they'd only just married before being separated, and in years they'd met only a few times.

Yin Linglong, however, took it for granted, as such separation was common among cultivation families.

After recalling Yin Linglong's voice and appearance, Wang Yu suppressed his inner heat and walked into another secret chamber, dumping the pile of white bones into a corner.

Though not particularly valuable, these bones were carefully selected "premium" specimens by Yin Soul Sect disciples—most ordinary cultivators would find it hard to gather such a collection.

Moreover, these bones tied into the White Bone Yin Demon Flag, a special artifact—he very much wanted to cultivate this likely easiest-to-obtain Rank-Two artifact.

Thinking of this, Wang Yu pulled out a dozen other white bone artifacts from his storage bag and placed them on a nearby shelf. After a moment's thought, he carefully retrieved the thirteen white bone demons holding black small flags.

These white bone demons and their soul-capturing flag embryos had not been taken by Silver Cloud Ancestor.

Wang Yu now removed the black flags from each white bone demon's grasp and placed them alongside the others on the shelf.

The three Golden Core elders had treated these thirteen soul-capturing flags with such seriousness—they must be no ordinary items. He'd wait until he learned more before deciding how to handle them.

As for these thirteen unusually strong white bone demons, along with the other captured white bone demon puppets, he tossed them atop the pile of bones, letting them slowly nourish themselves to prepare for future crafting of the White Bone Yin Demon Flag.

Next, Wang Yu descended into another deep underground ice cellar and retrieved the flesh of the slain monstrous snake and giant wild boar, piece by piece.

These nourishing foods were meant for Da Lü and Little White—he could occasionally snack on some himself, but their effects were naturally far better suited to the two spirit beasts.

Wang Yu then pulled a box from his storage bag, carefully opened it, revealing a small, emerald-green horn, no more than a few inches long, translucent and shimmering, with faint crimson veins visible inside.

It was the thing he'd peeled from the fleshy bulge atop the monstrous snake's head in the secret realm—he still didn't know what it was, and no texts he'd read mentioned it.

But Li Tianqi outside the cave was an expert in such matters—he'd almost certainly know.

After thoughtful consideration, Wang Yu no longer hesitated—he picked up the box and returned outside the cave.